Cassandra's Choice
by Taliesin The Eternal Bard
Summary: This is the second book in my Xena & Hercules cross over.
1. The Dream

Two days ago Cassandra had set out on her own in search of Aries; staring into the flames of the cook-fire her mind raced back through the years.

_A seven year old Cassandra was woken from her slumber by noises coming from mother's room. Standing in the door Cassandra saw her mother Xena thrashing around on her bed._

"_Mama, stop…" Xena's thrashing continued even getting worse taking a few steps closer little Cassandra cried out again, "Mama stop… please"_

"_Mama, stop…" Cassandra cried for the third time as she tried climb into her mother's bed only to be hit by the back of her mother's hand._

_Little Cassandra molded herself to her mother's body wrapping her tiny arms around her mother's neck as Xena's thrashing slowly subsided._

_It was the next morning as Xena was fixing Cassandra her morning meal that she noticed her daughter's black eye, asking Cassandra, "How did you get that sweetheart"_

_Clinging to Xena's leg the seven year old stated, "Mama hurts… Cassandra made it better"_

_Xena knew exactly what her daughter meant Xena had one of her dreams of the time she was Aries general. Reaching into her saddlebags Xena pulled out a small container of ointment and took off the cover she sat Cassandra on the table examining her eye. _

_Xena thought to herself, "So much like your mother" _

_Cassandra crinkled her nose at the scent telling Xena, "Stinky…" As she tried to push it away_

_Kissing Cassandra's forehead Xena told her softly, "You made mama all better, now mama will make Cassandra better!"_

_That morning she started teaching me to fight…"_ _Cassandra remembered. _

Cassandra was brought back into the moment by the moment by voice of Hercules her father.

"Cassandra" Hercules called out "Cassandra… don't do this!"

Cassandra asked, "How did you find me so fast… I covered my tracks just like mom taught me!"

"I've had a lot of practice tracking people" Hercules told Cassandra.

Cassandra's brows had risen to an arch forming heads and formed furrows at the bridge of her nose and her eyes widened as tears started to form an the corners of her eyes. Cassandra's mouth formed an upside down smile as her lips parted as she asked her father "Did she ever tell you about her nightly torment… all the nightmares"

Hercules could hear the pain in his daughter's voice as he replied, "No… she never told me"

"All of it was…" Cassandra was so upset she couldn't bring herself to speak his name

In the back of his mind Hercules was thinking _Cassandra's actions are justifiable… Ares wants her; he can't have Xena so he wants her _"Ares" Hercules stated "Ares… show yourself… NOW"

In a low bow Aries stated sarcastically, "At your service!"

"Ares" Hercules screamed "Are you still trying to recruit my daughter!"

Looking at Cassandra Aries thought _"She is almost ready…_" Tell me child said Aries "Who do you want to kill?"

Examining the cutting edge of one of her swords Cassandra's face hardened as her eyebrows drew themselves down to the point where she was almost squinting and the furrow of her brow deepened. Standing Cassandra walked over Aries bearing teeth as she whipped her sword overhead resting the tip against Ares throat muttering, "You Aries… I want you dead!"

Hercules thought to himself _"She is underestimating my brother_ _Ares…" _

Cutting off his daughter Hercules stated "You forgot the most important rule… she is not one of your followers… she's not even your blood, she had to choose to follow you"

"My mother taught me how you work Aries, how you think … anger and rage is your way in, I may hate you uncle but there's no anger involved in my choice" Cassandra told the god of war.

Aries looked back down the length of the sword at Cassandra, his head tilted slightly back with his eyebrows lowered and pronounced. His sideways smile went halfway up the right side of his face he was the picture of arrogance.

Aries could feel the tip of the blade against his throat and he could feel the pressure increase as looked at Hercules, asking, "Hercules … a little help here!"

Cassandra looked at her uncle stating, "You still don't get it do you Aries… I let myself get angry… to feel rage to lure you here, so I could kill you"

"Thanks to dad… I know that despite all your bluster you can't force me to serve you… I have to choose to do that" Cassandra said with confidence.

Moments later Xena and Gabrielle stride up on horseback to see Cassandra holding Aries at sword point for the first time since she left the small camp she set up for her mother Cassandra hears her mother's voice saying "This is an interesting turn of events!"

"M-mom" Cassandra stammered.

Ares tried to resist only to be cut and his blood was slowly trickling down the length of the blade. Aries stared at the blood in horror no one had ever made a God of Olympus bleed save Xena.

The next thing Cassandra saw was herself on the ground dead

Cassandra woke from her slumber and looked across the firepit at her mother Xena calling out softly not wanting to wake Gabrielle as well, "mom!" There was no response so Cassandra called out to Xena a little louder, "mom!" Still there was no response then you have to yell Cassandra called out, "MOM!"

Xena's eyes began to flutter as she asked, "Cassandra what's wrong?"

Cassandra said, "I just had the strangest dream… Some reason I was tracking down Ares and trying to kill him…But I died"

Xena looked at her daughter Cassandra telling her, "it was only a bad dream… Just a bad dream!

Next the fire Cassandra sees a scroll with the wax seal within the seal is a crest of a woman running a chariot within a circle stars.

Xena her mother urges Cassandra, "Open it!"

Unrolling scroll Cassandra reads the following comment.

Cassandra it was not a bad dream… It was what could have been.… Nyx"

Cassandra handed the scroll mother stating, "M-mom…R-read…T-this."


	2. Unrealized reality

It was midnight of a full moon, having read the scroll Xena set it aside and looked at her daughter Cassandra asking her, "Want to tell me about it?"

Sitting up on her bed roll Cassandra said, "In my dream it starts when I leave you and Gabrielle at the campsite I set up for you… Artemis accompanied me back to the village; once she left I got on my horse and rode out but before the Hippolyta tried to stop me

The heads of Cassandra's eyebrows rose to points as furrows start the form at the bridge of her nose, and worry lines ran it length for head side to side as she admitted to her mother, "Mom I was angry…" Looking down and away from her mother Cassandra felt a twinge of guilt and she said, "It reminded me of the way you described what it was like when you were the conqueror of nations…, when you were a warlord!"

Looking down to the left Cassandra's face started turning crimson as she said, "The only thing I could think of was how much Ares was torturing you with nightmares… I wanted them to stop, so I decided to try and kill him."

When Xena heard the extents that her daughter was willing to go to protect her she started to become glassy eyed and a tear started forming in the corners of her eyes. In that moment neither mother nor daughter you to speak for each understood it would die for each other.

It was an overwhelming sense of sadness on Xena's face as she said, "Cassandra… I never wanted you to know that kind of rage… I never wanted you to know the emptiness inside!"

In a silent sign of solidarity Cassandra got up and walked to the other side of the fire pit and sat down placing her hand over her mother's hand she sat in her mother's lap like she used when she was a little girl and rested her face and head in the crook of Xena's neck no words were spoken Xena knew she just need to be held.

In a barely audible whisper Cassandra said "it scared me… The lengths I was going to go to"

Xena stroked her daughters had and began to sing a Celtic lullaby in quite voice to her daughter.

Dún do shúil, a rún mo chroí Close your eyes, my love

A chuid den tsaol, 's a ghrá liom My worldly joy, my treasure

Dún do shúil, a rún mo chroí Close your eyes, my love

Agus gheobhair feirín amárach And you will get a present tomorrow

Tá do dheaid ag teacht gan mhoill ón chnoc Your dad is coming from the hills

Agus cearca fraoich ar láimh leis With game and grouse in plenty

Agus codlaidh go ciúin 'do luí sa choid So close your eyes, my love, my joy

Agus gheobhair feirín amárach And you will get a present tomorrow

Dún do shúil, a rún mo chroí Close your eyes, my love

A chuid den tsaol, 's a ghrá liom My worldly joy, my treasure

Dún do shúil, a rún mo chroí Close your eyes, my love

Agus gheobhair feirín amárach And you will get a present tomorrow

Tá an samhradh ag teacht le grian is le teas The summer sun shines bright and warm

Agus duilliúr ghlas ar phrátaí And potato stalks grow greener

Tá an ghaoth ag teacht go fial aneas A bracing breeze blows from the south

Agus gheobhaimid iasc amárach And we will have fish tomorrow

Dún do shúil, a rún mo chroí Close your eyes, my love

A chuid den tsaol, 's a ghrá liom My worldly joy, my treasure

Dún do shúil, a rún mo chroí Close your eyes, my love

Agus gheobhair feirín amárach And you will get a present tomorrow

Xena calmed Cassandra telling her, "You will never have to be that person!"

Both Xena and Cassandra heard Nyx disembodied voice commenting, "you have a lovely voice Xena!"

From within the shadow of the moon itself came the black feminine form descending to earth both mother and daughter heard Nyx's voice once more say, "What you remembering isn't the dream little one… More of memory of something that never happened"

as the shadowy form some take on flesh and form of the human she took a seat on the log Nyx smiled and said softly, "You were in so much pain Cassandra… That's why helped you, no one so young should feel such anger."

Looking at the ground Cassandra asked, "Nyx… Y-You never did tell me what payment was required?"

"When you asked to be my friend I decided payment was not necessary… Of all the things to ask me!" Nyx to them in amazement stating, "Everyone always remembers the gods of Olympus… No one remembers the first ones like myself!"

Looking at both Cassandra and Xena Nyx said in a serious tone, "Ares was not very happy that I interceded on your behalf… He was all set to start torturing your mother all over again, when I materialized in front of him!" Looking at both mother and daughter Nyx stated, "I told him mortals are not the only ones that can suffer nightmares." Looking at both women Nyx voice became deadly serious and she said, "The last thing I told Ares was I can make your nightmares real… And permanent"

Wide-eyed Cassandra looked at Nyx asking her, "You threatened him… You threatened the God of War?"

Staring into the fire Nyx told them, "More like made him a promise… I made him understand not to trifle with me."

Looking at Xena Nyx asked her, "Did you enjoy the glimpse into your family's future?"

Pointing to a Gabrielle slept Nyx asked, "Has she started writing the Cassandra Chronicles yet…"

Wide-eyed Xena looked at Nyx asking her, "How do you know about that?"

"Because I sent you that dream..." Nyx replied. Looking at both she went on to say, "Xena… Your daughter has a destiny."

Turning to face Cassandra Nyx said, "Don't force yourself to remember it… it will only lead to disaster and ruin…"

There was a long pause before Nyx said, "The fates would tell you in the multi-verse every time we make a choice we create an unrealized reality… Something that could have been but never will be… At least in this reality"

That's when it hit Cassandra she looked at her mother wide-eyed and said, "I was going to kill Ares… I would've died in the process but I was going to kill him."

"As my children the fates would say… It's not healthy for a mortal to remember past timelines… even if that mortal is a demigod it only leads to madness!" Nyx explained.


End file.
